FREN 520/820 -- Literature of the Sixteenth Century

Within the space of seventeen years and in the face of the violence of France's Civil Wars, writers and artists at Court developed the first use of free verse, laid the foundation of opera, articulated a conception of modern classical tragedy, and explored narrative realism.  An introduction to this extraordinarily rich period of literary history that makes use of extra-literary materials such as memoirs, pamphlets, letters, and journals in order to grasp as nearly as possible a literary milieu in its totality.  Includes film, art, music, and politics.  Study of key figures such as Marguerite de Valois (Margot) and Catherine de Médicis, and of writers such as Baif d'Aubigne, Desportes, La Taille, Garnier, Montaigne, and La Botie.  Two papers, two short presentations.

15:30-18:00 W      Mr. Hoffmann

FREN 550/850 -- Philanthropy, Reform, and Utopia in 19th Century French Literature

Nineteenth-century French writers were often haunted by what they perceived as the breakdown of social bonds. First, in the aftermath of a violent revolution, then, in the wake of industrialization, a broad array of authors asked: "What kind of society will emerge in France?" While some looked back with nostalgia to the "lost world" of the ancien regime, others placed their hopes for national renewal in "the people" or in the new colonies that seemed to hold the promise of a reinvigorated nation. Still others proceeded with an indictment of contemporary French society in order to argue for reform. Authors, whether of novels or of empirical investigations of urban and industrial life, were increasingly aware of their potential impact on an expanding literate public. They often crafted their writings with an eye to reaching specific audiences and intervening in public debate. This course will focus primarily on the writings of novelists, but it will also examine those of utopian socialists, philanthropists, and reformers who grappled with the "social question" of nineteenth-century France.  Authors may include Balzac, Villerme, Lamennais, Proudhon, Michelet, Sand, Valles, Hugo, Zola, Maupassant, France, Barres, and Loti.

15:30-18:00 M      Ms. Horne

FREN 560/860 -- 20th-Century French Literature: Métamorphoses du roman

Roman historique, philosophique, autobiographique, social, "nouveau roman," roman réaliste-fantastique, etc., formules romanesques qui se sont succédées ou se sont chevauchées depuis une cinquantaine d'années.  Dans ce cours/séminaire, tout en s'interrogeant sur le bien-fond d'une typologie ou d'une hiérarchie valorisante des formes romanesques, on procédera d'abord à une lecture attentive des textes pour en identifier les appareils discursifs et narratifs.  On se posera la question de savoir quels rapports latents et patents les oeuvres entretiennent avec leur époque par leur forme aussi bien que par leur contenu.  Parallèlement, on s'informera sur différentes approches critiques du roman, qu'on tentera de replacer elles aussi dans leur contexte historique. Parmi les romans retenus en vrac (la liste n'étant pas encore définitivement arrêtée): Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique (Tournier); Les Champs d'honneur (Rouaud); La Petite Marchande de prose (Pennac); L'Acacia (Simon); La Bâtarde (Leduc); Le Planétarium (Sarraute). Travaux: compte-rendu de deux pages sur chaque roman; exposé oral de 20 minutes; essai de 6 à 8 pages sur une approche critique choisie (mi-semestre); essai d'une quinzaine de pages sur une oeuvre au choix.

15:30-18:00 T      Mr. Simon

FREN 744 -- French Film

The century of French Fim.  The course will begin with an overview of film in France from 1895 to 1995, combined with a review of the concepts of narrative and cinematographic description as elaborated in French theory from Brazin to Metz and Deleuze.  Within this contextual and conceptual framework we will then study two "auteurs" (Carn and Truffaut) and several recent film makers.  Students who have not taken an undergraduate survey course in French film should obtain the syllabus of FREN 344 by the end of the fall semester and use it to prepare themselves for this graduate course.  In keeping with the practical aim of enabling students to study (and eventually teach) film in both French and English, one of the two weekly meetings will be conducted in French and one in English.

14:00-15:15 M W      Mr. Lyons

FREN 870 -- Seminar: Francophone Studies

This seminar will explore  issues in the origin of Francophone literature in Africa from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1930's, from David Boilat and Leopold Panet to Leopold S. Senghor's early essays; from the theory of "l'Afrique latine" to "l'Ecole d'Alger": readings and discussions of the Colonial Novel, its origins, specificity, and quarrel with Exoticism.  Early African novelists and the Colonial Novel: dialogue and resistance, ambiguity as narrative strategy; the aesthetics of assimilation vs. regionalism; the anti-assimilationist discourse of Negritude.  Authors will include Paul Holle, L. Bertrand, I. Eberhart, R. Lebel, P. Hazoume, M. ben Cherif, O. Soce, L. S. Senghor

3:30-6:00 W      Mr. Dramé

FREN 880 -- Seminar in Medieval Civilization

La culture médiévale et sa réputation.  Ax autant sur l'historiographie que sur les petits faits, ce cours débutera par la présentation d'aspects bien étudiés de la période pour déboucher sur l'interrogation des mythes, ceux des spécialistes y compris.  Les conditions de l'existence matrielle seront largement abordées, parmi elles les manifestations artistiques, ainsi que le système (assez lâche) qui organise cette société pour la justice et la défense, les changes économiques, la transmission des idées, etc.

15:30-18:00 R      Mr. Cook

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